Best In Show- 2013 Trends, Year in Review:

YEAR IN REVIEW: 2013 year literally flew by, bringing uplifting innovations and energy to the design world that should have good staying power in 2014. Let’s take a look through the CPD lens at the Kitchen, Bath, Home Technology, Design, Lighting and Style stars of 2013:

DESIGN WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR:

Life sized lamps rock. This one also by Jimmie Martin. I want to put this one in the same room as a Moooi Horse Lamp.

BRITISH VIBE:

Timothy Outlton had a big year, delivering the hip British man cave vibe to cities across the US with multiple store openings.

Ralph Lauren stayed elegant with this Apartment No 1 collection designed to be a nod to Will & Kate, featuring a nice mix of deco, contemporary hip and classic. I love the updated Chesterfield look, the Brook Street Sofa.

BEST TEST KITCHEN:

Kitchen Heaven. This one, at the Sub-Zero Wolf HQ in Madison, is better than one might even think to dream for a fantasy kitchen. See Sub-Zero Wolf Media Event here.

BEST OF KITCHEN:

If money is not an issue…. La Cornue. As Seen at Architectural Digest show in New York.

See how great a La Cornue kitchen can be…. Image from Veranda Magazine, Interior Design by Daniel Cuevas, photograph by Max Kim-Bee.

Steam cooking is surprisingly fast, efficient and delicious. Steam ovens can create meals that might surprise you- like pasta, like molten chocolate desserts, like fajitas- you name it, the results are impressive (and lower in fat). You can even cook multiple items in the steam ovens simultaneously without worry of flavor transfer. Steam cooking = less mess and time spent – to be healthier. Hard to argue with that. Miele Steam Oven pictured above.

Wolf’s New Generation— rounds the back end of the oven shelves, so now we are free to make BIGGER pizzas in our ovens. Well done, Wolf!

Those red knobs mean one thing: Wolf. In this case, a great gas range experience… now with more precise control than ever. Innovative dual-stacked sealed burners have two tiers of flame ports. When you are boiling, searing or stir-frying, the upper tier produces impressive power. Turn down the heat and the lower tier provides delicate control for low, slow simmers.

BEST OF BATH:

Lots of shower options are now available. If a rain shower experience is on your wish list, then Axor can deliver that with style.

Brizo’s H2Okinetic Technology delivers a massage-like experience by forcing those water droplets to take a new zig zag pattern, rather than a straight trajectory as we are used to. H2Okinetic Technology creates a “drop” of water that is 40% larger than a normal drop of water. Combine both of these technologies and the same amount of water pressure feels like MORE.

It is all in the details. Drains are now beautiful. We highlighted Watermark’s collection in a Huffington Post Article earlier this year.

Above and below, glass and stone partner in the water-jet mosaics from Ann Sacks.

Vanities are getting more elegant…. above by Devon & Devon, below by Ornare.

The drawers in this piece glide with smooth precision and have fully customizable inserts to keep organized. Ornare has showrooms in Miami and Dallas- a must if you are ever in either city.

If 2014 is half as exciting as 2013, it’s going to require some serious vitamins to keep up. I look forward to seeing what the year brings and sharing the adventures with you. If there is anything in particular that you would like to see more or less of on this site, I hope you will feel free to let me know. Cheers to a year of health, happiness and prosperity…

You do an amazing job, Courtney. What a great overview, photos and terrific picks. I just purchased the Hue bulb/lamps for my step daughter’s new house and got to play with them first hand. Loved your video. I can’t wait to visit the Sub-Zero/Wolf Mother Ship in Madison.

Courtney! What a fabulous recap!! I want every single item…especially that under the rug flat cord and of course the ornare closets. You have such a great eye, these are indeed the best things of 2013.